Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded benchmark data for Control with the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 shows a clear performance ceiling imposed by the graphics solution. At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate reaches 33 FPS on the Low preset. The Medium preset averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. High settings drop the average to 21 FPS, while Ultra falls further to 18 FPS. None of these values approach the 60 FPS playability threshold, and even the best case at 4K remains well below a smooth experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains constrained. The Low preset produces an average of 50 FPS, which is the strongest result at this resolution. Medium averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. High settings deliver 31 FPS on average, while Ultra drops to 27 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 15 FPS, indicating that the jump in visual fidelity costs a substantial portion of the already limited frame rate. Even at 1440p, no preset reaches the 60 FPS target.

At 1920x1080, the only playable configuration appears. Low settings average 65 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by a margin of 5 FPS. Medium averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline of roughly 10 FPS per tier, with the Low preset being the sole configuration that achieves a consistently fluid frame rate. The recorded data shows that the Arc B390, despite its modern architecture, is the limiting factor throughout these measurements.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-13700K in the database include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which scores 0.2% lower on average, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, which scores 0.3% lower. On the other side, the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 each score 0.5% higher. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming terms, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same graphics card. The processor is not the bottleneck in this configuration.

For the Intel Arc B390, the nearest rivals are markedly older and weaker discrete parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1.3% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1.5% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 2.5% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 2.7% higher. These are all entry-level or legacy GPUs, which contextualizes the Arc B390's position in the database. It ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, placing it near the bottom of the performance distribution. A system using any of these rival GPUs would behave similarly to the Arc B390 in Control, with frame rates hovering in the same low range across resolutions and presets.

The practical implication is that users coming from a GT 710 or GT 625 OEM would see roughly equivalent performance, while those expecting a meaningful upgrade from integrated graphics may be disappointed. The CPU side offers ample headroom, but the GPU's percentile ranking (9th) and its nearest rival scores all below 1500 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test indicate a fundamental throughput limitation.

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 run Control at 60 FPS?

A: Only at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, where the average frame rate is 65 FPS. At all other tested resolutions and presets, the average frame rate falls below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best performance at 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset delivers the highest average at 50 FPS. Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. None reach the playability threshold.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The Arc B390's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710, all scoring within 1.3% to 2.7% of the Arc B390 in the database's GPU benchmark. Performance in Control would be similar across these parts.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the clear limiting factor. The i7-13700K ranks in the 89th percentile among CPUs, while the Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among GPUs. The frame rates track the GPU's low standing closely.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 3840x2160 on Medium settings?

A: The recorded data shows an average of 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. This is far below the 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever reach playable frame rates?

A: No. At 1080p, Ultra averages 36 FPS. At 1440p, it averages 27 FPS. At 4K, it averages 18 FPS. The Ultra preset is not playable at any resolution in this configuration.

The Verdict

The recorded data indicates that this PC can run Control, but only under a narrow set of conditions. According to the verdict by resolution, the only playable configuration is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which produces an average of 65 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS threshold by 5 FPS. At 2560x1440, no settings produce a playable frame rate; the best case is Low at 50 FPS. At 3840x2160, the best case is Low at 33 FPS, which is far from acceptable for smooth gameplay.

The overall combo rank in the database is 3311 out of 3720 tested combinations, placing this system in the lower portion of all tested hardware pairings. That rank reflects the GPU's severe performance constraint. For users who prioritize frame rate over visual quality, the 1080p Low preset is the only viable path. Those who require higher resolutions or higher presets will need to consider a different GPU, as the i7-13700K has ample processing headroom that the Arc B390 cannot utilize in this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i7-13700K and the Intel Arc B390 in Control is heavily skewed toward the GPU. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: it ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of its average score, confirming that processor performance is not a differentiator in this setup. In contrast, the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile, and its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the GT 710 and GT 625 OEM.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU's dominance. At 1080p Low, the average is 65 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 50 FPS, a 23% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops to 33 FPS, a further 34% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline with increasing pixel count is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain more stable across resolutions, as the CPU workload does not scale as dramatically with resolution.

Preset scaling further reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average from 65 FPS to 46 FPS, a 29% drop. From Medium to High, it falls to 41 FPS, and from High to Ultra, it falls to 36 FPS. The consistent step-downs with each preset tier indicate that the GPU's shading units (1536), texture mapping units (48), and render output units (24) are saturated even at moderate settings. The Arc B390's FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s are modest figures, and the measured results align with those specifications.

At 4K, the differences between presets compress: Low averages 33 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 21 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. The smaller absolute gaps at higher resolutions suggest that the GPU is operating at its absolute ceiling, where even the Low preset cannot provide enough headroom to maintain meaningful differentiation between settings. The CPU's role in this game is therefore minimal; it provides enough single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4333) and multi-thread capability (PassMark multithread score of 45887) to avoid any processor-side bottleneck, but the Arc B390 cannot translate that headroom into higher frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best setting that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is the Low preset, which delivers 65 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 46 FPS, so it does not qualify. There is no headroom for higher visual quality while keeping the frame rate at or above the playability threshold.

At 2560x1440, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 50 FPS, but that still misses the target by 10 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution, meaning the best available option for users who insist on 1440p would be the Low preset, accepting a frame rate below the standard target.

At 3840x2160, the situation is similar. No preset reaches 60 FPS, and the best case is Low at 33 FPS. Medium averages 24 FPS, High 21 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. For users who must run at 4K, the Low preset is the least bad option, but the experience will be well below smooth.

The pattern across resolutions is consistent: the Low preset is always the highest-performing option, and the delta between Low and Medium grows as resolution decreases. At 1080p, that delta is 19 FPS. At 1440p, it is 15 FPS. At 4K, it is 9 FPS. This suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes so saturated that preset choice matters less, and the frame rate is primarily constrained by the raw pixel throughput of the Arc B390.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's overall ranking for Control, the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 combination is positioned at rank 3311 out of 3720 tested combos. That places it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems. This low rank is not attributable to the CPU, which sits in the 89th percentile among all processors. The GPU, however, sits in the 9th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA parts with similar or slightly higher benchmark scores.

The combination's rank aligns with the measured frame rates. A system ranking near the 89th percentile for CPU and 9th percentile for GPU would be expected to perform poorly in a GPU-bound title like Control, and the data confirms this. The 1080p Low average of 65 FPS is the only result above the playability threshold, and every other configuration falls short.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals (Ryzen 9 5900, Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, Ryzen 9 7845HX, Xeon w3-2535) would all produce nearly identical results when paired with the Arc B390, since their performance deltas are within 0.5%. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals would produce comparable frame rates in this game, all scoring within 1.3% to 2.7% of the Arc B390 in the database's GPU benchmark. The combo rank of 3311 reflects a pairing where a high-end CPU is severely underutilized by a low-end GPU, and the resulting performance is firmly in the lower tier of the database's tested configurations.